Best practices in elaboration of national legislation in compliance with World Trade Organizations’ (WTO) requirements were discussed during an online seminar organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat on 2 and 3 December 2021
As the "Golden Age" correspondent was told at the OSCE Center in the two-day event brought representatives from the Mejlis (lower chamber) of the Milli Gengesh (Parliament) of Turkmenistan, the country’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Finance and Economy, Agriculture and Environmental Protection as well as the State Customs Service, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other ministries and relevant bodies.
Two international experts from Georgia presented priorities for promoting international trade and reviewed WTO requirements. They discussed the removal of technical barriers to trade, tariff policy in agriculture and food, the determination of the customs value of goods, cotton trade and domestic support issues, border measures on intellectual property rights, and relevant WTO agreements, including on trade facilitation and on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
Referring to the OSCE Ministerial Council decision on "Strengthening Good Governance and Promoting Connectivity”, John MacGregor, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat said: “This OSCE commitment gave a new impetus to the Organization's work on promoting economic co-operation, including through providing support in the integration of economies into the international economic and financial system, above all through accession to the World Trade Organization”.
He added that, over the past five years, the OSCE has significantly intensified its activities in the area of trade facilitation and promotion of the principles of uninterrupted and secure transport and transit.
This event marks the continuation of the OSCE Centre's co-operation with the government of Turkmenistan in the area of trade and transport sector development.
It should be recalled that on July 22, 2020, at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, a regular meeting of the WTO General Council was held, during which Turkmenistan's application for observer status to the World Trade Organization was considered. At this meeting, a decision was unanimously adopted to grant Turkmenistan observer status in the WTO.
Currently, 164 states are members of the WTO. 24 countries have observer status in this Organization. Turkmenistan became the 25th country in the observer status.
The country's acquisition of this status is intended to contribute to the dynamic development of the national economy of Turkmenistan, to strengthen its positions in foreign trade, to carry out multilateral cooperation, to attract investments from abroad and to develop international trade relations. This also applies to the development of commercial and trading strategies, including their successful implementation.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization that regulates the rules of trade between its members. It is based on the WTO agreements concluded, signed and ratified by most countries of the world. The WTO rules are a guideline for the development and practical application of national legislation in the field of trade and economic relations. The main goal of the organization is stable, predictable and free trade flows between its members.
A source:
Press release of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat
https://www.mfa.gov.tm/ru/news/2149
